Well, it's not anything terribly fancy, but it was something I could quietly hide in the checkbook without anyone getting suspicious.

Handi-Rifle: .223, 22" Bull Bbl - $197 Wal-Mart
Handi-Rifle Discount, Nov '05 Sale- $20 NEF Firearms
Mueller 3-9x40 IR Reticle Scope - $130 Optic Zone
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Final Price after discount: $307

Y'all don't mind the kitchen counter. I thought about the pictures as an afterthought as I was on the way out the door and I didn't bother with any type of "glamour shoot setup for this gun".

This'll be a working gun anyway. I don't want it thinking it's gonna get babied with pillows and throw rugs and stuff.

http://www.alaweb.com/~crowell/pics/handi01.jpg

http://www.alaweb.com/~crowell/pics/handi02.jpg

http://www.alaweb.com/~crowell/pics/handi03.jpg

I took it out yesterday afternoon to break in the barrel and play with the scope a bit. I didn't have a proper rest so I just shot it off the bed of my truck to sight it in.

It's a fair gun. That mueller scope seemed pretty good. It's no Nikon but it holds it's own, and it's clearer than two Simmons I have. Unfortunately, it was broad daylight and I didn't get to play with the illuminated reticle much.

It may have been me - I've been pretty sick these last few days and I was still running a little fever yesterday and coughing something fierce, but the best I could get was about a 2" group at 200 yds. using factory UMC jacketed 55gr. to sight and break in.

I may play around with my ammo selection a bit and see if this barrel prefers hornady or something. Either way, 2" at 200 yards is within minute of bobcat/coyote, and that's what I wanted it for.

2" groups at 200 yards with a handi rifle shooting out of the bed of a truck?????? I'm gonna throw the bull shit flag at that. In fact, make it a BULL SHIT flag. You ought to get a decent set of rest and head for the bench rest matches with your handi rifle.

Well, I propped it up over the bed-wall on an old pillow and sat inside the bed of the truck to shoot ... I didn't think it was that bad.

It's not perfect, but I promise it's not BS. Heck, I was a little disappointed in the thing and hoping to do better with it. That's how I was trying to come across anyway. I used to be a tourney shooter in IDPA, IPSC and even tinkered around with the FCSA for a bit. I'm certainly not boasting about a 2" group at short-medium range

My other rifle was originally going to be a bench-rest gun, but I basically gave up match shooting back in '99 when I came back home to take care of my grandparents, and then in 2000 I had a son, 2003 divorce, 2004 dating and ultimately getting remarried, and by 2005 I just didn't think about it anymore and my eyes aren't what they used to be. (and my source for all those little brown boxes of surplus 45 ball retired )

But I still have my bench-rest gun

Here's a picture of it next to a coyote I caught wandering around at about 270 yds.

http://www.alaweb.com/~crowell/pics/coyote02.jpg

I almost feel bad lugging the thing around in the woods with me. It's a custom .300 win mag with a HEAVY 26" barrel. I had it made back in '99 when I was still doing IDPA and was prepping for bench-rest shoots.

I keep telling my wife that it's a target-rifle and not a hunting rifle, and I need to buy a good "hunting" gun, but she thinks that as long as it can kill deer it's good to hunt with.

Especially now that she's pregnant. She's getting all concerned about things like baby stuff, and buying lots of toys and goodies, and receiving blankets and stuff, and just steadily chipping into my "miscelaneous purchase" reserves.

Ben, I with ya on all that. I'll post a pic tomorrow...bit worn out at the moment as I've been in 5th gear all day...range report on the way regarding Ravage. Dunno how small my favorite group is but there was a fella 6 lanes down shootin' 6PPC through a Stolle action BR gun...I kinda pissed him off. Well, with one group I did anyway. Groupage ranged from something in the 7's I suspect with the BT's, and from bughole to an inch or so with the Partitions. Details tomorrow.

Anyhoo, it looks like your Handi-Rifle sux as much as my Remmy. Good shootage dude!

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.WeAllGotA.CrossToBear

A lot of times its the shooter not the gun?

Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. I really wasn't feeling well Tuesday. I'd even taken off work sick to go home, but it was just too georgeous of a day to lay around on the couch.

I got several groups that were a little over 2", generally between 2 and 3.

I want to think this little handi-rifle can do better. I just need to go back when I have some time to do things proper.

I've still never been bitten by that hand-loading bug, but I've been thinking about it more and more lately.

You can reload and get good results without being fanatical about it. I have a "bench" rifle in 7.62x51 that works pretty good. I used to mess around with handloading using some of the BR techniques but with this Lieberal govt. of ours my enthusiasm has waned quite a bit. derf

Rather than start a new thread, this one being at the top...

The bottom one is the one that tweaked the Stolle shooter the top one...well, it's okay for big targets like crats and such. Ravage is exhibiting a few personality traits after 60 rounds...it prefers mild(er) loads to hot, the above trippin' along at what I'd guess to be 2800 fps, mebbe a bit more. 100 grain Nosler Partitions over 32ish grains of RX15, R-P case and Federal 210 Primers. 2.6" OAL and about .002" of neck tension. Distance is 100 meters, temp about 65*F, wind was puffy at 1/2 value, L-R and 0-10 mph. Next trip will toy with OAL a bit but I pretty much think I got the two loads nailed down...the Ballistic Tips bobbling around at 3 grand and averaging around .5-.6" if I read the wind well. Two things amazing me here is that the Partitions are holding in there with the BT's, Bob won't do that at all. Well, Bob is a Queen Bitch with the BT's though so I can't complain. Critters might. The other is that Ravage is not too concerned with run out, the only gun I have that does not seem to care one way or the other. It seems to shoot all loads acceptably to brilliant, giving credence to the thought that good guns shoot all things well where average guns only shoot select loads. How gratifying.

I left Special at home this trip, didn't have time to put glass on top. Bob and the K-Hornet went along, mostly to burn up some old loads. Bob still doesn't like the Sierra 90 gr HPBT, nor does the K care for the Sierra Blitz. The ammo cleaned out odds and ends bullets left over from years gone by...load development etc. The Sierras were over 20 years old...and, SEE YA! Hadn't shot either of the #1's in over a year...felt good to have 'em out, though I need to do some more trigger work on both. The set trigger on Bob is not working properly, and gremmlins seem to have added a few pounds pull to the Mowry trigger in the K.

Other odds and ends...Some fella from south of the border wondered by and was turned into a gun whore by an amenable Army Sargent just back from Iraq. Gads, he was hot stuff with that gas gun he had! No wonder the idiots over there don't want to firefight the GIs. Anyway, after some instruction and shooting Sarge and Julio went down range to check targets, and Julio gave me a ration of crap about my prowess with Bob. "Senor, you wobble a leetle!" Sarge pointed out to him that the target has 7 distinct groups on it, and Julio quieted a bit. It was just after that I picked up Ravage and began popping away. After the 2nd of the groups above I invited Julio to look thru the spotting scope..."I geeve up! We negotiate, OK?" I started to say something, but he said then, "Give me beeg head start, OK?" So many things raced thru my mind.... but I kept them to myself...

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.Gentlemen.StartYourSneakers!

I have seen several Handi Rifles that were tack drivers .
A freind has a Ultra Varmiter that will shoot 1/2 -3/4" groups at 100 yds with Fed American Egale 223G thats the 50 gr HP load .
But he had a trigger job done also .

Johnch